31/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Commission confirmed on 30 January that it had carried out surprise inspections at the premises of several ship classification companies and an association of such companies suspected of participating in an illegal anti-competitive practices. The companies certify ships' conformity with technical standards. Bureau Veritas (France), Lloyd's Register (UK), Germanischer Lloyd AG (Germany) and Det Norske Veritas (Norway) have confirmed that they were affected. A spokesperson from the latter company, which is affected because of Norway's participation in the European Economic Area, said: “We are not concerned, and cooperate fully with the inspection team”. (C.D.)